Well, let’s start with the obvious: Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) is so far behind smartphone OS market leaders Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) that its market share barely even registers. At this point, the former Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) has slowed to a crawl, and is losing ground to Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)‘s Windows Phone OS — but beating Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) only lands BlackBerry back in a distant third place. BlackBerry was once the king of “smartphones” before most people used the word to describe the category. Since Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) (and then Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)) arose with a new touchscreen mini-computer standard of design, BlackBerry’s been struggling to catch up.
The problem with that effort is pursuing a “me, too” strategy in the smartphone market isn’t likely to move the needle enough from an investment standpoint. My fellow Fool Adam Levine-Weinberg points out the obvious: Everyone is pretty much doing the same thing. That works well enough for the companies that jumped ahead when that thing was new and exciting, but when you’re starting 50 yards behind on the 50-yard dash, you practically need a jet pack to catch up. The Z10 doesn’t look like that jet pack. In my humble opinion, it doesn’t even look as interesting as the Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) Lumia line of Windows phones — and when smartphones become commodities, the pretty commodities are likely to beat the bland ones.
Research In Motion’s quarterly shipments have declined every quarter for over a year now. Its latest quarter saw just 6 million smartphones shipped — yet another dangerous slide. While there’s a case to be made that BlackBerry/Research In Motion has a low bar to hurdle to look good again, the fact that it continues to miss that bar should give investors serious pause. How can you show momentum when fewer people want your product every month?
Putting the pieces together
Today, Research In Motion has few of the qualities that make up a great stock, but no stock is truly perfect. Digging deeper can help you uncover the answers you need to make a great buy — or to stay away from a stock that’s going nowhere.
The article Is BlackBerry Destined for Greatness? originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributor Alex Planes holds no financial position in any company mentioned here. Add him on Google+ or follow him on Twitter @TMFBiggles for more insight into markets, history, and technology.The Motley Fool recommends Apple and Google. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple, Google, and Microsoft.
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